19 The Best Laid Plans
by ccmal
Summary: Almanzo and Laura plan how they are going to tell Charles they want to get married right away. 19th in the series


**The Best Laid Plans**

LHOP inspired fan fiction by Cheryl C. Malandrinos

Disclaimer: I do not own the Little House on the Prairie television series, book series, or any of the characters.

Almanzo dragged himself away from their kiss. Laura had just accepted his proposal and he wanted to settle how they would get from sitting here along the shore of the lake, to being man and wife.

"Do ya think ya could be ready to get married next month?" he asked. "That'll give me time..."

"Wait a minute," she interrupted.

"What?"

"Did you just say, 'next month'?"

"Yeah."

"You know Pa wants me to wait until I'm eighteen."

"But I don't wanna wait. I love ya and I wanna spend the rest of my life with ya."

"I want that too Manly, but Pa would never approve. He wants me to finish school…and he doesn't think I'm ready for marriage yet."

"What do you think Beth? Are ya ready to be my wife or not?" he asked with twinge of annoyance.

"I want to be your wife more than anything else in the world."

"So let's get married right away."

"And what are we going to tell Pa?"

Almanzo shrugged his shoulders. "Nothin. We'll go off and get married and then come back for your things. They'll be nothin left to say."

"I can't do that."

"Don't ya love me?"

"Of course I do, but I love my pa too. I wouldn't feel right if we didn't talk to him first." Laura didn't know why he was being unreasonable.

"Beth, I don't understand ya. Ya just said he would never go for us gettin married right away, but now ya wanna talk to him first."

Laura put her hand on his arm. "Manly, I don't want to run off and get married without Pa's blessing. It would be like we were doing something wrong. I don't want our life together to start off that way." Her eyes pleaded with him to reconsider.

Almanzo knew how she felt, but he still wished she would change her mind. "What if your pa says no; are ya tellin me we'll just put aside our plans and wait for two years?"

Frustrated, she stood up and paced the grassy area by the lake. "I don't know. Maybe we will end up running off anyway, but I have to tell him, Almanzo." She paused to think of how they could approach the subject. "Why don't you tell him the reasons you want to get married right away?"

He smirked at her. "Ya want me to tell your pa that I don't want to wait two years to be intimate with ya."

She slapped his arm. "Is that the only reason you want to get married right away?" she teased.

Almanzo flashed her a crooked smile. "You know it ain't, but it sure is an important one."

Laura blushed. "Oh Manly," she said, collapsing into his arms.

He held her in a tight embrace, stroking her hair. He kissed the top of her head as he rocked her back and forth.

"If we get married next month, we can start workin towards the farm of our dreams that much sooner. I wanna build ya a big, beautiful house with a porch to watch the seasons change. I wanna hear the sound of our children's feet runnin on that porch when they come home from school each day. I wanna be able to look out across the prairie and see nothin but our farm and our livestock grazin in the pasture."

"It sounds beautiful," said Laura, looking up into his eyes.

"It will be," he replied. "I wanna give ya the world."

"You're all I need Manly."

"You deserve it all, and I'm gonna be the one to give it to ya."

She smiled up at him, feeling like she was the luckiest woman alive.

"I can't help how I feel about ya Beth. I can't wait two years to start showin ya how much I love ya. I've never felt this way about anybody before."

Tears of joy formed in the corners of Laura's eyes. "I know what you mean."

"Then ya know why I don't want to wait."

She nodded. She knew why he didn't want to wait. She didn't really want to wait either, even if the thought of being a wife to Almanzo scared her a bit. Two years seemed like an eternity. Every time they kissed, Laura's body tingled with excitement. There were times she felt as if she would faint from all the emotions swimming around inside her. Oh how she wanted to share his life, his dreams, his desires. But she still couldn't get by the obstacle of her pa. Her love for him was strong too. She didn't want to go against him, especially not with something this important.

She jumped back when the idea came to her. "How about I talk to Ma tonight? I bet she would let us get married right away."

"But your pa has the final say," he said, confused.

"I know, but if Ma goes for it, then maybe she could talk to Pa and she…"

"No," he interrupted. "I don't want your ma doin my dirty work. Besides, your pa would never trust me again if he knew I was goin behind his back." Almanzo shook his head, realizing Laura would never agree without Charles's permission. "I'll talk to your pa."

Laura squeezed him with all her might. "Thanks Manly. Why don't you come over for supper tomorrow night."

Almanzo chuckled. "All right, I'll come by tomorrow. But ya need to know that no matter what your pa says, I ain't waitin two years."

Laura nodded. She wished the two men in her life weren't so stubborn. On the ride home from the lake she said a silent prayer hoping Pa would allow her to get married next month. She knew Almanzo was serious — he wouldn't wait, and the last thing she wanted to do was choose between them.


End file.
